May election filing period opens soon

The filing period in Young County opens in two weeks for political subdivision seats up for election in May. City council and school board positions in Graham, Olney and Newcastle are up for election with applications available at each individual entity.

Applications to file can be submitted to local political subdivisions from Wednesday, Jan. 17 through Friday, Feb. 16. The election will take place Saturday, May 4 at polling locations around Young County.

Early voting in the election will run from Monday, April 22 through Tuesday, April 30. The last day to register to vote in the election will be Thursday, April 4.

Olney Hospital District

The Olney Hamilton Hospital Board of Directors will have five positions up for election in May which are held by Bob Craig, Rita Choat, Randy Whitmire, Ron Rogers and Lyndsey Miller.

Candidates must be a resident of the OHH hospital district and a registered voter. An employee of the hospital district may not serve as a board member. Candidates must also complete an application with the OHH administrative assistant.

Graham Hospital District

Graham Regional Medical Center Board of Directors will have four seats up for election in May which are held by Dr. Donald Behr, Terry Bishop, Jon Garvey and Barry Strickland.

Candidates must be a resident of the Graham Hospital District and must be a registered voter. An employee of the Graham Hospital District cannot serve as director. Candidates must complete an application for a place on the ballot and submit their application to the secretary of the GRMC board of directors.

City of Graham

The Graham City Council will have three seats up for election in May which are held by Alex Heartfield, Shana Wolfe and Jeff Dickinson.

To file for the city of Graham election, a candidate must be a resident of the city, a citizen of the United States, a qualified voter in Young County and paid all city taxes assessed against them prior to the date of the election.

Those who file must be 18 years of age or older on the first day of the term to be filled at the election or on the date of the appointment. Those filing must not have been determined mentally incompetent by a final judgment court, or partially mentally incapacitated without the right to vote.

Those who wish to file cannot have been convicted of a felony for which the person has not been pardoned or released from the resulting disabilities.

They must have resided continuously in the state for 12 months and in the territory for which the office is elected for six months after the deadline for filing an application for a place on the ballot.

The candidate must complete an application for a place on the ballot and submit the completed application to the city secretary.

City of Olney

The Olney City Council has three seats up for election in May which are held by Rue Rogers, Tom Parker and Tommy Kimbro.

To file as a candidate for the city of Olney election a candidate must be a resident of the city and reside within the city limits for the preceding 12 months. The applicant must also be at least 21 years of age, registered as a voter in the state of Texas and submit a completed application for a place on the ballot to the city secretary.

City of Newcastle

The Newcastle City Council has three seats up for election in May which are held by Adrian Ontiveroz, Ronnie Cavitt and Tricia Crossland.

To file as a candidate for the city of Newcastle election a candidate must be 21 years of age, reside in the city limits of Newcastle, pass a criminal background check and submit an application for a place on the ballot to the city secretary.

Graham ISD

The Graham ISD Board of Trustees will have three positions up for election in May which are held by Andrea Lowery and Brandon Bates.

To file as a candidate for the GISD election a candidate must be a registered voter in Young County and must reside within the district boundaries. The candidate must complete an application for a place on the ballot and submit a completed application to the school board secretary.

Also on the May ballot for GISD will be two bond propositions, the first of which will consolidate the district from three to two elementary school campuses.

This will be accomplished by adding space at Pioneer Elementary School to serve pre-K through second grade students. Minor renovations will be completed at Crestview Elementary School to serve third through fifth grade students.

The proposition would include the demolition of the existing Woodland Elementary School campus, except for the gymnasium. The estimated cost for Proposition 1 is $27,500,000 and the anticipated date of completion is August 2026.

Proposition 2 on the ballot will be for a student multipurpose facility which has an estimated cost of $10,500,000 and an anticipated completed date of August 2025.

Olney ISD

The Olney ISD Board of Trustees has three board members who are up for election in May which are Kenley Lane, Jodee Wales and Mark McClelland.

To file as a candidate for the OISD election a candidate must be a registered voter in Archer, Baylor, Throckmorton or Young County who resides within the district boundaries. The candidate must complete an application for a place on the ballot and submit the application to the OISD election coordinator.

Newcastle ISD

Newcastle ISD has three board members who are up for election in May which are Michael Crossland, Anthony Ford and Tradd Strawbridge.

To file as a candidate for the NISD election a candidate must live within the NISD boundaries, complete an application for a place on the ballot and submit the application to the superintendent.